Bucktail Students Make Historic Pitch to Change Pennsylvania’s State Fossil: Hynerpeton Takes Center Stage Over Trilobite
By Kevin Rauch
FARWELL -Should the plight to change the Pennsylvania State fossil be changed from its current petrified impression of the Trilobita, to the Hynerpeton Bassetti through legislation taken on from students at Bucktail Area High School, decades from now, the names of the students that spearheaded the ratification likely won’t be spoken when people speak of the state fossil.
However, on Tuesday the fossil quite honestly took second stage to a group of students that left the crowd in awe of their speaking and teaching abilities who flawlessly made their first official campaign pitch for the state fossil to be changed where they unveiled their detailed plans to achieve just that.
It was a formidable crowd at Bucktail on Tuesday for the students, particularly on this day for seniors Martin Lewis and Matti Mason, as well as juniors Eva Sockman, Kedda Bissman and Lola English standing in front of Senator Chris Dush, State Representative Stephanie Borowicz, representatives from Senator John Fetterman’s office, Clinton County Commissioners and other dignitaries.
Their peers belonging to the student government body and ecology class stood close by in support as the five speakers represented them all.
The Bucktail students impeccably presented their case for why the Hynerpeton Bassetti- meaning “creeping monster from Hyner” -was better suited to represent the state.
The project began earlier this year when Beth Whitty reached out to Bucktail Principal Jim Poleto to see if the students would be interested in taking on the change for the state fossil. Mr. Poleto asked teacher Josh Day for his thoughts. Mr. Day suggested that Whitty offer the task to the student government members as well as his ecology class.
It was an emphatic yes.
“Beth Whitty pitched it to us students, our students took a hold of it, we all want to make our school unique, this our campus, our area, we want to put our community on the map,” said senior Martin Lewis. With graduation looming, Martin and Matti Mason each made mention that they realize that they won’t still be at Bucktail if their goal is ultimately reached, but both said that this legislation was bigger than them.
The students had prepared a detailed power point on why they feel that the state fossil should be changed, a ZOOM interview with the discoverer of the Hynerpeton Ted Daeschler and a PBS documentary on the Hynerpeton that showed animated models of what the animal looked like and how it lived each day. Ted Daeschler is currently the Associate Curator and Chair of Vertebrate Biology at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
The students explained that the current state fossil Trilobita has been found in 46 states, is the state fossil of 3 other states and was ½ inch to 4 inches in length. With equal parts dramatic and comedic approach, the students often referred to the Trilobita as “a bug”.
The Hynerpeton by comparison was discovered in Hyner, so far only in Pennsylvania, lived in the Devonian period of 354 million years ago, was 2- 5 feet long and was rare in the global scope showing the beginning of aquatic life moving to shallow water and eventually land, with lungs having similar characteristics to humans.
It was however the question-and-answer segment of the program that sealed their case for the politicians in the audience.
Each speaker expertly explained their reasoning and experiences of their campaign to this point. Repeatedly, they offered the joy of providing education to anyone from primary schools throughout Keystone Central, the community and now even the politicians in the audience.
Several students offered that they plan on getting into education after high school and that this experience of teaching has only strengthened that goal.
Despite having experts on hand—such as teachers, Beth Whitty, and Doug Rowe, the foremost authority on Red Hill fossils who has dedicated much of his life to the fossil-rich rock formation—the students spoke for themselves. In fact, they only turned attention to Whitty and Rowe to express appreciation for their efforts, not because they needed help with their presentation.
If the reaction from the politicians in the audience was any indication on how the legislation will proceed, it appears that making history for the Bucktail students is quite likely.
Senator Dush thanked the students, saying that their presentation was “excellent” and “outstanding” and promised that he’d be taking the proposal to the state capital.
State Representative Borowicz said their pitch was “phenomenal”, adding that it was better than many of those presented on the house floor, before ultimately extending an invitation to the students to the State Capitol.
Beth Whitty was all smiles, shaking her head in amazement after the students’ performance.
“They exceeded expectations, every time that I blinked, they exceeded what you thought, they are amazing, look at them” said Whitty as the students were speaking candidly to the dignified guests following the event. “These kids are brilliant, so brave and creative, this is amazing”.
“My son was a student teacher here for these students last year and he told me how amazing these students are, I’m blown away” continued Whitty. “You hear people all the time saying ‘this younger generation isn’t as good as older generations’; they obviously haven’t met some of these students at Bucktail.
The students have created Facebook and Instagram pages, both titled Harry the Hynerperton. There, users can find links or use a QR code to fill out form letters and send them to state politicians, requesting that the state fossil be changed to Hynerpeton.
